UNTIL January 29, 2003, importers of juice concentrates into Nigeria had a field day. They exploited the seemingly loose import frameworks to feather their nests, not minding the adverse consequences posed by their escapades. But when the Federal Government resolved to place an embargo on juice importation, the emphasis was on safeguarding revenue earnings of the country and to protect local industries.

Few years after, not only had this ban began to pay off by boosting local production, it has provided a golden opportunity to tap the seamless potentials of the juice market in Nigeria. Over the years, a number of local firms have continued to invest massively in fruits juice concentrates production in response to an astonishing rise in local demand for juice which currently stands at 170 million litres annually, valued at $255million. It is estimated that Nigeria alone consumes an estimated 50 per cent of fruit juice sold in Africa.

However, at the core of these amazing consumption figures is the constantly changing taste of today’s consumers of juice. Like never before, they want better brand offerings that are consistent with the mood and realities of the time. They want brand offerings that understand their quest for healthy living and all-round wellness. And just few years ago, the likes of Chivita, Funman and Dansa all swooped on the emerging 100 per cent juice market to grab their share. In September this year, 5Alive Pulpy became the newest addition to this growing 100 per cent family, churning out its unadulterated pulpy drink in a 40cl PET bottle.

Consequently, The Guardian embarked on a study recently to understudy the foray of these brands into the 100 per cent juice market, using a quantitative method of research with one-on-one card users in Lagos. The findings used structured questionnaire as instrument of data collection with a sample size for quantitative study for 150 respondents who were randomly sampled in the A, B, C, D and E socio-economic classes – male and female aged 15-45 years and above.

Of the available brands of fruit juice in the market known by respondents, 53 of them representing 35 per cent mentioned Chivita 100% followed by 49 representing 32.6 per cent that associated with 5Alive Pulpy; 30 of them representing 20 per cent mentioned Funman while 18 representing 12 per cent went for Dansa.

But there are remarkable revelations thrown up by the study. On preferred brands used by respondents, 76 representing 51 per cent went for orange flavour- Chivita 100, 59 representing 39 per cent accounted for orange flavour, 5Alive Pulpy, while 15 representing 10 per cent associated with pineapple flavour, Funman.